Demon Hunter
by Kamil the Awesome
Summary: Demon. Hunter. Names given to them by their enemies. Now their greatest threat is each other.
1. Chapter 1: The Frigate

A/N: not much to say. A new story, a new fandom. Well two actually. And I'd have to thank Halopedia and Wikitroid for information on each fandom.

New part: thank you to AbsoluteDestruction, Ravenhood and readandreview66 for reviewing the original version of this chapter.

Disclaimer: check profile.

Demon/Hunter

Chapter 1

The Frigate

Samus sat there in a state of retrospection. The Federation had set up a memorial on her birth world, the colony K-2L, a planet that had been ravaged in a long war against the Space Pirates. Everyone other than her had been slaughtered by a group of Space Pirates led by Ridley, a Pirate general who descended from the legendary space dragon race. She had miraculously survived a direct confrontation with her future nemesis. Days later she was found by a race of humanoid birds called the Chozo, who decided to help her. They raised her, and after many years of training and a few years with the Galactic Federation police, she then turned towards a life of solitude, and became the most renowned bounty hunter in the galaxy. And the most feared.

Three months had passed since the destruction of Phaaze and the elimination of her doppelganger, Dark Samus. She found herself to be in the habit of returning to this site after every mission she completed; Samus wasn't sure if it was some sort of way to keep her grounded, but it was reassuring. After a couple of minutes, she stood and tapped a couple of buttons on her Zero Suit. A golden light spread over her as the Chozo Battle Suit reappeared in its Varia Stage. The message she saw every time a rezbit got the better of her back on Aether, along with whenever she removed the suit itself appeared.

Main Power Restored

System Check Initiated

Chozo Battle Suit Ver SA1-446B-VM6-P

Main computer: Online

Targeting System: Active

Arm Cannon: Active

Armor: Engaged

Morph Ball: Engaged

HUD Suite: Online

Visors: Responding

Missile Launcher: Engaged

Ammunition Module: Deployed

She then returned to her Hunter-class gunship, just yards away. With a quick jump, she landed onto the entry point on the top and was lowered into her gunship. Moving into the pilot seat, she tapped some of the buttons above her and the ship began liftoff procedures. As she prepped her gunship for launch, a transmission from Galactic Federation Command arrived.

A hologram image of Fleet Admiral Castor Dane popped up. "Samus, our long-range sensors have discovered part of a frigate of unknown origin. We want you to investigate it before we send Commander Malkovich and his crew."

"Since when have you been able to command him, Dane?" The admiral glared back, obviously annoyed by her question.

"Since the Battle of Phaaze. He's been demoted down to Captain, if you're wondering." Tired of talking about Adam, she continued on.

Samus looked at him through the visor. "How much will I be paid?"

"25,000 seguru." She was surprised. That was a large sum of money. Whatever was on the frigate had to be of vital importance someone.

"That's a lot. What's so important about it?"

The admiral groaned. "We're in talks with a human group known as the UNSC and when we told them that our long-range sensors had picked up part of a craft with the name _UNSC Forward Unto Dawn_, they requested an investigation as part of the talks. Apparently one of their heroes was lost on that craft. Rumors are that this hero could take you on in a fight." Samus laughed.

"I have my doubts, but if they're confident enough, let them hold onto their illusion." She had a sudden change of heart. "You know what Dane, I'll do it. Then I'm taking this person to their home planet. I'll need coordinates for that Dane."

"Ok. Just show us the body before we give the coordinates. They're very possessive of their location." The communication shut off and Samus took off, rolling her eyes.

* * *

A space pirate watched as Samus' gunship landed within the frigate. It scurried away as the Hunter rose out of the ship, heading deeper into the ship to warn others. She looked over to her left and saw two ships. One was a space pirate ship she was too familiar with while the other was a strange, purple craft. Samus quickly scanned it and sent the data to GF Command to see if they had any info on the mysterious ship.

As she walked through the ship, searching for any sign of life, Samus discovered signs of a tear; she assumed that it happened when the frigate got ripped in half – the command bridge was gone. Other than some vermin, Samus couldn't find anything nearby. Her search ended her up in some sort of control room, where two space pirates were hard at work hacking into the system. Jumping up swiftly, she fired a missile right into the back of the one of the left. As if collapsed to the ground, the other one screamed in a way she never had seen in her entire experience with the trash. It then charged like usual, just to meet a missile to the face. Walking over to the control unit, she saw vital signs on it. A quick scan confirmed her thoughts that they were for the UNSC hero.

She looked up to see a cyrotube. It was starting to open up, releasing its content. Inside was a man in a drab olive armor with a golden visor. He grabbed onto a handle and looked over towards where Samus had entered. Standing in the doorway was a hairless gorilla. With a gun.

Using her grapple lasso, she pulled the weapon away from the creature. Samus caught the weapon and handed it to the thing coming out of the cyrotube. It yelled out something about a 'demon' before charging. _So he's human_. _Pleasant_.

The man in the olive armor next to her spoke. "You're screwed. That's a brute and I've seen them take on tanks and win. They sometimes give me troubles." _That's great_, she thought. _I'm basically a tank right now anyways._ Samus began to charge her arm cannon, using the new coils on the outside to cover the entire cannon in glowing plasma. Samus didn't pause to scan it; instead, she grabbed the creature's collarbone and tossed it up above herself in an arch. Once the thing was past her head, she forced her cannon up through its torso, splashing blue blood onto the ceiling. She tossed the brute down at the feet of the other person.

He looked at her, surprise in his voice. "How did you do that?"

"What? Kill that thing? Easy. I used its movement to lift it up. And Chozo technology is always useful." Samus turned away and started to walk away. He quickly grabbed her massive shoulders and spun her around. She found herself tempted to do the same to the being before her as she had done to the brute.

"Who are you?" His question was simple.

"I'm a bounty hunter in the employment of the Galactic Federation. My name is Samus Aran. You?" She was happy that he couldn't hear her normal voice; some cultures had problems with women being as powerful as her.

The mechanical voice from the man in the orange armor was getting on his nerves, but he answered. "I'm Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 of the United Nations Space Command."

Samus smiled under her helmet. "Good. Then you're the person I was sent here for. I'm taking you back to," she went through some of the data she had just received. Finding what she was looking for, she finished with "Earth." They faced little to no resistance on their way back to her gunship. Only a foolish grunt had gotten in the way and the bounty hunter let the soldier deal with it. Once there, he stared at it awkwardly.

"How do I get in, Samus?" He was answered not by words, but by actions. She jumped onto the ship and was lowered back into it. He shrugged his shoulders and clawed his way up the side of the gunship and lowed in the same way she had. Once inside, he popped a chip from out of his helmet. From it projected Cortana, the AI that had stuck with him through his journeys to take out the Halos. A golden light came from behind and he turned, wondering what trick the bounty hunter had to show next. Right where Samus had been was now a female in a black bikini, letting her hair hang down.

She looked at him. "What? Never seen a female's body before."

John just looked at her. "That's for another time. When will we leave and is it alright if I plug Cortana in?"

"Cortana?"

"My AI from my 'journeys' to save the universe." She shrugged her shoulders before starting the take off procedures.

"Sounds like we have a similar line of work, Chief."

Unknown to both of them, a pterodactyl-like creature watched them leave.

A/N: I probably should get a beta reader.

Review if you feel like it, since that's how most people are.


	2. Chapter 2: A Broken Life

A/N: I'd like to thank AbsoluteDestruction and Ravenhood for reviewing. But seriously, I get 4 alerts, but only 2 reviews? What is up with that?

New part: thank you to ethereal chicken, Weeeooojr, AbsoluteDestruction, Ravenhood, Running on Fumes, Wraith Five, readandreview66, FreedomFighter2184, and artilyon-rand for reviewing the original chapters.

Chapter 2

A Broken Life

Her Hunter-class gunship pulled away from K-2L and the _Forward Unto Dawn_, the desolate frigate on which she had recovered the greatest hero of the UNSC. John watched silently as she opened up a communication link between them and the G.F.S. Olympus, opening up a holographic image.

"So, Samus how was the mission?" The aging man asked, not bothering to try and look around the compartment of Hunter I, the gunship that had been on Tallon IV.

"Same as usual, Dane," Samus responded. She leaned closer into the image. "These 'UNSC' people should be satisfied that I've gotten their golden boy here and he has no scratches, even though I've found some rather…interesting things onboard of the ship he was on. I hope they fight against beings that use purple vehicles."

"That'll make them happy, not the purple ship part," he threw in hastily. "Although we've lost contact with our group on their planet," he paused. "You may have to stay longer and discover what is going on. We'll also pay you more." The communication shut off. Samus cursed silently as she turned to the SPARTAN.

"I'm ready to leave when you are, even though he now wants me to spend time on your planet."

John gave her a smile of amusement, and then spoke up. "Cortana, get us home."

The AI grinned in relief. "Ok, Chief." The ship's hyper drive engines began to fire when a violent attack tossed the beings inside of he gunship around. Samus pulled herself off from the floor as Cortana looked at her in fear. "We're under attack from Geoform 187, codenamed 'Ridley'." A low groan came from behind the bounty hunter.

Her brain moving as fast as possible, Samus came up with an idea. "Cortana, initiate Defensive Maneuver ULF 27." The image of their attacker being blasted with electricity brought a smile to the bounty hunter. John came up from behind and peered out the window. A massive pterodactyl-dragon-like monster flew past them. It started to hover in front of the gunship, its mouth glowing.

Drooling, it spoke to them. "You'll regret that, you stupid bitch." A blast of plasma starts to build within his mouth, tiny parts dripping out and being pulled about by the vacuum of gravity. John watched as Samus entered in some things into the computer before Cortana spoke.

"Why are you aiming a missile at his chest when you don't have any?" They watched as she jammed her cannon arm into the console. A few seconds later, a golden object flew out of the ship and smashed into Ridley's chest, causing the plasma building in his mouth to flow out onto his face and drop from their path. The SPARTAN gave a sigh of relief as Cortana smiled, before sending them into hyper-slipspace.

Ridley growled after watching them leave. _'I'll get you yet, Hunter.'_

* * *

The gunship arrived at Earth in only a couple of hours, a major surprise to Chief. Two C709 Longsword-class Interceptor fighters approached them, one of them hailing the gunship. They flew into positions surrounding the gunship, denying any chance of hostilities.

"This is Knife 26. Please identify yourself of you will be shot down by Orbital Station Jericho." A static voice said.

Samus replied accordingly. "This is Hunter, carrying cargo SPARTAN-117."

A moment later, Knife 26 replied. "You have clearance Hunter. Follow us to New Mombassa." The Longswords moved in front of the gunship and directed them towards New Mombassa. Once within range of the city, more fighters approached them and led towards a landing pad. Samus let Cortana land the gunship onto the pad as group of people walking out towards them. A man similar to Dane led the greeting party.

Samus tapped a button, returning the Varia Suit to its position around her body, relaxing herself into the armor. After removing Cortana from the gunships computer, John stepped onto the lower lift while she climbed out the top. Once onto the ground, they walked over towards the welcoming committee, Samus's arm cannon rising to be right behind the Spartan's back for a slight second before dropping down hastily when she noticed others panicking. The SPARTAN looked back at her.

"Sorry. It's a…habit," she said in defense as a man older than her usual employer in military attire walked up to them, leaving the rest behind.

"It's nice to see you in one piece, Chief" the man told the Master Chief. He turned to Samus, starting to smile. "I am Fleet Admiral Lord Terrance Hood, and I guess you're the bounty hunter the GF sent to retrieve Chief. We all here with the UNSC thank you." Before he could continue, John interrupted him.

"So how long have I been gone?" Hood looked back to the men with him before answering. Samus was now sure that something was up here on this planet…Earth.

"I'd guess it would be around 7 years or so. The Sangheili, or elites as you'd know them as, have been hunting down the Covenant since the end of the war. Of course, the human race has almost quadrupled since then through government programs and our species own resilience. About three days ago we received a transmission mentioning 'space pirates' of some sort, and apparently they're working with parts of the Covenant." Cortana proceeded to reveal herself at this point, only surprising the bounty hunter.

"Space pirates you say?" She looked at Hood. "Our friend here has some experience blowing up Space Pirate hideouts…and their planets." Samus glared at the "smart" AI through the visor. Lord Hood just smiled before leading them all to his private office at the top of the building. During the lengthily walk up the tower, Samus scanned as much as possible, just in the case of things went badly for, like how it usually did, for some reason. She wasn't sure why they didn't take one of the lifts, but she had a feeling they had their reason.

Once to the office, two members of the ODST, as her scans told her, stood by at each side, weapons ready. As much as she wanted to laugh at them, she knew it was no time for gloating. Lord Hood looked at her from his desk. "I want you to deliver this message to Fleet Admiral Dane and…Commander Malkovich that as of 0700 tomorrow the United Nations Space Command and the Galactic Federation are at war." He then paused, thinking. "Actually, I think it would be better if you were dead before then." Samus glanced at Chief. "Men, kill him." They both dove away from her,

She stood still as they fired their rifles at her. Once they both started reloading, she checked her energy tanks. _Only three out of thirteen down. This may take a while. _She shook her head, laughing. "You're just wasting your time, Hood. Now excuse me, I have a message to deliver." She punched the man on her left with the cannon arm before swinging around, delivering a roundhouse kick to the other man's face, as they had approached with some other sort of gun. Master Chief moved in front of her, his signature MA5B assault rifle ready for action. Samus quickly charged her power beam before firing it into John's face at point-blank. He was knocked onto the ground by the force of the blast while the glass window shattered behind him, stressed by the shockwave.

Samus stood at the opening before turning back to Lord Hood. She tapped a button on the chest plate, causing the helmet to disappear in a flash of gold light. "Never call me a man."

She fired a group of seeker missiles into the office as her helmet returned. Walking to the opened window, she called her gunship via the Command Visor. To her surprise, the gunship was gone, replaced with a smoking piece of metal. A sudden blast from a mysterious weapon dropped the bounty hunter to her knees.

"You should make sure that you completely deal with your enemies, bounty hunter." Looking back, she noticed that Master Chief had gotten back up, and was now aiming a gun at her. One of the weird weapons the ODST soldiers had was resting in his arms. Tapping a few buttons on the side of the arm cannon, she combined the spazer beam with the wave beam.

As the orange of the Varia Suit morphed into the purple of the Gravity Suit, Samus laughed. "You should follow your own advice, soldier." She fired one shot at his legs and watched as he collapsed to the ground, cursing. Samus turned away, ignoring his screams of pain.

The bounty hunter got up and walked to the end of the open window. Leaping out of the window, Samus used the brief minutes in the air to send a message to the shipyards of Aliehs III, hoping that the GF 'accidentally' read the message with out her permission.

Hunter I terminated.

UNSC betrayal.

Send Hunter III.

The instant the message was away, she crashed into the Tudor Creek, letting the current take her out into the ocean.

To await her rescue.

A/N: so I hope that this chapter isn't seen as garbage. Because I think it is.


	3. Chp 3: The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

A/N: thanks to AbsoluteDestruction, Weeeooojr, Ravenhood, and ethereal chicken for your reviews. Hopefully this chapter can help satisfy some questions. Today just happens to be my birthday, so whoooo! Also, I'm going to pick up a copy of Metroid: Other M tomorrow morning.

Fun fact: the Fall of Reach started on August 30, 2552, which just happens to be the date of my birthday.

Disclaimer: Don't be a retard.

New Part: same people, herp-a-derp.

Chapter 3

The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

John hated War Council. It was primarily the bickering and the lack of doing anything that bothered him. Along with himself, the major commanders of each part of the UNSC was there, composed of people from ONI, the Outer Fleets, the Home Fleet, the Marines, and the main Army. Although they had declared war almost a week ago on the Galactic Federation at the bizarre meeting, they had yet to make a move or even alert their allies of the oncoming war. One of the few men he could trust, Jacob Robinson, was talking.

"Around 0230 three days ago a spacecraft of GF-like design entered the 'kill-zone'. It landed on the Eastern African coast 50 miles south of our position. By 0250, which was before any transmissions could break through the numerous encryptions, the ship was off world and had made the jump to "hyperspace", the main form of intersystem transport for our enemies. Which is superior to our own technology, by a magnitude of seven." One of the councilors spoke up.

"We all know that Admiral Robinson. Why did you call us here? I doubt you've come up with any ideas on how to fight them, since we don't even have any intelligence." He glared over at Hood.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Yesterday a GF landing craft came into the 'kill-zone'. We received a transmission from the ship after telling them to leave or be shot down. Listen." He activated the COM system.

A gurgled message came through. "SPARTAN-104…blue team…Noble…don't shoot us down. Dr. Halsey onboard." John instantly stood up, knocking his chair to the ground. The others looked at him, startled by the sudden action.

"Where is the ship?" he said, demanding an answer. Everyone was staring at him in fear. Eventually someone gained the courage to speak.

"Docking Bay C, Master Chief." They watched as the SPARTAN stormed out of the chamber, almost removing the doors that kept people out. Military personal stepped out of the way as he marched down to the hangar. Eventually he reached the bay to find a group of ODST's inspecting what looked like SPARTANs. One of them called over to him.

"What's up with the helljumpers, Sierra-117?" A familiar voice called out. John walked up to his old friend, Frederic-104. They clasped hands before throwing their shoulders inward, sounding a loud, booming sounds that echoed through the hangar. He looked at the other SPARTANs before his attention turned to Dr. Halsey.

"Who are they?"

She looked to the other soldiers. "I don't think it's best to let them hear. We were scrambling like crazy trying to get away from part of the GF's forward fleet."

He turned to the ODSTs. "Dismissed boys." They walked away making jokes about the SPARTANs.

The doctor smiled. "Is that the way to treat some old friends John? With me are the other two from Blue Team, Kelly-087 and Linda-058. We also have the entirety of Noble Team from the Fall of Reach. I'll let Carter-A259 introduce his team." She stepped back, letting Carter step forward.

The hologram of Cortana appeared from a nearby port. "I thought that Noble Team died on Reach." John mentally agreed with her.

Carter glanced over to Halsey, who nodded. "We did, but the kind doctor created DNA and memory copies for all of us. She ended up using some of the technology within the Onyx Shield World to clone us. But enough about that, I need to introduce you to Noble Team." He turned his hand towards them. "Catherine-B320, Jun-A266, Emile-A239, Jorge-052, our only SPARTAN-II, and Sierra-B312. But enough about us, we need to know about our enemy. Not their main force, their ace in the hole."

Cortana smiled. "This is where I come in." She changed into a holographic image of Samus. "This here is a bounty hunter in the employ of the Galactic Federation known as Samus Aran. She is the biggest threat they have, given that she can easily handle Chief here, and he's fought against the Flood almost single-handedly." John glared at her from behind the visor.

Kat spoke up. "So what has she done?"

Cortana put a hand in front of her mouth, suppressing a laugh. "Genocide on multiple species, blown up planets – including one that's trying to destroy another one, eliminated an entire element, and kills space pirates as vengeance. You know, usual girl stuff."

A loud noise comes over the COM, followed by a voice. "All personal report to your stations for briefing. Attacks on Galactic Federation targets will commence in 200 hours."

Eyes turned to John, while he turned to Cortana. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I'll ask around the top what they want a group of ten SPARTANs to do." She disappeared for a moment before reappearing. "Lord Hood is requesting the entire military to attack Elyssia, Bryyo, and Aliehs III. It isn't clear which ones Blue and Noble Teams shall be fighting on, but one of the three will not see SPARTANs. He also wants to thank all of you for bringing in enough intelligence that we can begin the…war."

Carter spoke. "What are they and what war are you talking about?"

"Elyssia is holds valuable information for the GF along with communications. Bryyo is home to a Fuel Gel plant. That's the stuff that powers their ships, once refined down. Lastly, Aliehs III is a shipyard planet although our friend Samus periodically will use it as a base of operations when no working on space pirate-related stuff." She stopped, thinking. "I'm not sure why we're at war with this Galactic Federation, but apparently Hood believes it's in the best interest of humanity to fight them." Cortana looked to all of them. "Are you up for the challenge?"

Carter, John, and Frederic all looked to each other before Fred spoke. "I guess so, Cortana. If it's in our best interest to fight them, then I'd like to know what this 'interest' is. Don't like fighting a pointless war."

Cortana disappeared once more. A couple of minutes had passed before she returned. "Our representatives couldn't come to an agreement over a name with theirs. Lord Hood decided to use force to show that we're correct."

Carter shook his head. "That's just ridiculous. We're fighting a war over a name."

"Enough talking," Chief yelled out, giving them all reason to pause. "We need to prepare for the upcoming attacks. Jorge, you along with Blue Team will go with me to Elyssia, where Cortana could help us get more Intel on the GF's reach. The remainder of Noble Team will head to Bryyo, preferably for sabotage reasons." His gaze drifted to B312. "After that we'll regroup on Aliehs and take it out. After that, I don't know." Carter just smiled.

"Good idea, Master Chief. Lets just hope this bounty hunter doesn't interrupt our operations," he commented. Looking around, he spoke up once more. "Where did Dr. Halsey go?"

A/N: football is the reason it's been so long since an update. Along with some writer's block. So just comment on how much you hate this chapter and I'll be fine.

New part: funny thing is that I'm giving up football for cross-country. Also, will anyone notice my little tribute to Bungie in this chapter?


	4. Chapter 4: Moving the Pieces

A/N: football, along with school, has gotten in the way. And to AbsoluteDestruction, Mr. Gasbomb, and Weeeooojr., thanks for the reviews. You guys are awesome.

Disclaimer: figure it out buddy.

New Part: same as last chapter, ftw.

Chapter 4

Moving the Pieces

Lord Hood splashed his face with cold water, removing the excess shaving cream from his face. Two days ago a scout craft for the Galactic Federation had reached Earth and was then promptly destroyed, not even offering any sort of defense. They were unable to prevent the distress signal from being sent out, however. He coughed hard as his mind left previous events, small amounts of blood hitting his hand. Wiping it on a towel, he thought about why the doctors had been telling him to retire for three years now, since he had gotten some thing called "dementia", a medical condition that affected older humans. They told him his brain was now sort of like Swiss cheese; he called bullshit on that matter. He left his private bathroom and walked over to the hologram machine within his apartment. Pressing a couple of buttons, Cortana appeared.

"You called?" she asked, hands on her hips just like usual.

"Yes I did Cortana. So what is the plan the SPARTANs have concocted?" She just smiled, walking from one projector to another.

"They're currently picking up the Mark Xi armor, but they've decided to split into two parties based off of their, generation. Chief's party will be going to Elyssia while Noble will go to Bryyo." She folded her arms over her chest. "But there's more."

Lord Hood scowled. "And what would that be, Cortana?"

"Our spies within the GF have discovered a group of soldiers that fought along side our bounty hunter friend are being sent to Elyssia, while a group of hunters, names unknown, will encounter Noble. We need to provide them with back up. They may be super-soldiers, but they aren't invincible. We both know that." Hood knew she meant Reach, and how Noble Team had died there. In their first life. "The biggest problem though is we don't know where Miss Aran is going."

"I'll send ODSTs to back them up, along with portions of our fleet, mainly those that aren't part of the Home Fleet. That's all for now, Cortana. I want you to remain on Earth directing the war while some other A.I.'s go with the SPARTANs." Pausing, he quickly finished. "Some that aren't as valuable as you." He turned away from her, heading to another meeting.

"Of course, sir." She murmured, both angered and depressed by the turn of events. But then an idea hit her as she disappeared.

* * *

The 10 SPARTANs were getting the new MJOLNIR Mark Xi before they got deployed to the front lines of the new war they were being thrust deep into. Reports from the Arbiter and the other Sangheili weren't pretty. It seemed that the GF was composed of thousands of species, including humans, which they hadn't expected or even known of. Plus, they were effective when it came to taking out singular troops, although were weak to rushes and similar maneuvers. Federation marines were superior to UNSC marines, yet they didn't have as many 'super soldiers' as the UNSC did.

Once the SPARTANs were all in suits that matched them physically and mentally, one of the technicians went through the basic protocol. After the suits were properly calibrated, the lead technician gave them a rundown on the new equipment.

"Ok, so you're new armor is equipped with some fancy stuff, including a built-in jetpack, a hologram machine, armor lock, and the usual fun stuff that we gave out like candy on Reach, yet last longer and are more powerful. The shields are stronger and replenish faster than the old Mark VI that Chief returned to us in." A couple of marines watching laughed. "The armor also has a built in plasma pistol on your left shoulder and wrist mounted blades that Sierra-A239 for sure will enjoy, yet will hopefully come in handy for all of you. Other than those, it's the basic armor you've all have come to love. Dismissed." They all started towards the _UNSC Dawn Under Heaven_, not speaking to one another.

* * *

Noble Six wandered into an armory on his way to the _Dawn Under Heaven_. One of the marines in there looked up at him, a smile breaking out on his face.

"You here for the new gadget?" The man tilted his head slightly.

"What do you have?" Six asked, turning towards him. His hands collapsed into fists that fell onto his hips.

He pulled a small, handheld device from a container behind him. Six looked at him questionly from behind his visor. "This here is the H-167 FON, better known as a Target Locator, similar to one you may have found on Reach." Six just nodded, remembering well what they could do. "You'll need this if you want to fight through waves of enemy troops. This one here," he shook the device, "is going to be set up to work with the Dawn Under Heaven, which should be helping your crew out if I'm not mistaken." Six nodded to what the marine had said.

They had decided to drop Blue with a battalion of ODSTs before the Dawn Under Heaven carried Noble to Elyssia. "So does it do what the old one did?"

"Exactly…" the man paused, not knowing what to call him other than SPARTAN.

Six started to look away from him. _Matt-B312_, he thought. "Sierra-B312, soldier." He turned to the door. "Try to get out of the armory before nightfall." And then just walked out.

* * *

Samus's beaten up gunship landed within the docking bay of the GFS Olympus. Upon exiting, she was greeted by two marines, both heavily armed and unfamiliar looking.

"Miss Aran. Admiral Dane requests you in 242's chamber." She nodded to the two before taking the familiar path to the Aurora Unit's chamber. She fired a single shot at the doorway before it opened up. Standing within the room were the Admiral and three bounty hunters. The group turned when she entered. The hunter closest to Dane was none other than Sylux, a hunter she had encountered in the Tetra galaxy. What surprised her the most was his cooperation with the Galactic Federation, but that could wait. Next to him was another hunter she had crossed pasts with, Weavel. He was once a Space Pirate warrior before she had left him for dead. After that he was placed into the armor he wore the last time she saw him. The final one looked very similar to Gandraya, one of the hunters she had encountered during the Infection period, who she had killed on the Pirate Homeworld.

"Explain what is going on here." The demand was delivered swiftly and without hesitation.

The one who looked like Gandraya spoke first. "You act just like how my sister told me before she became corrupted. And if you're wondering, my name is Dangraya. My parents were very un-imaginative." The other hunters both laughed at her. Samus looked to them.

"And what would two bounty hunters that would rather tear through GF marines than fight beside them be doing here? That's really what I want to know."

Sylux just shrugged his shoulders. "Work is harder to find right now, with two major factions comprised primarily of humans fighting each other. The Space Pirates have split, with those loyal to Ridley siding with the UNSC while those loyal to Weavel here have decided to assist the GF. It seems we'll be working together instead of trying to kill each other." If he was human, he'd have a smug look under that mysterious helmet, Samus assumed. The door opening interrupted her thoughts.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything important, Admiral." The visor opened up when his gaze turned to her. "Long time no see, Princess." She slightly blushed as the other hunters laughed. Only one man would dare call her something like that, and that was none other than Anthony Higgs of the Galactic Federation Army. She stepped in his direction.

"What would you be doing here on an Navy/Marine controlled ship, Anthony? I thought those in the Army couldn't stand them." Her arms folded over her chest.

He shrugged. "Adam pulled me off the front lines and put me on a ship heading here. After I arrived some rather unfriendly marines sent me here. I guess you're being paid for this, huh."

"No I'm not, Anthony. Not this time. I've met their 'Demon' and he's not a push over. You shouldn't be worried about if we can win. It's just how long will it take before they kneel down. From the story he told me it sounds like they fought this 'Covenant' for half a century before they finally won. And they were very close to losing when they won." She turned to Dane.

"So where are we being deployed?" All five of them asked at the exact same time.

"You're all being sent to Bryyo to overlook the secret project we are working on there. If it works out, we'll end this war five months tops. Dismissed." They all nodded before heading to their ships.

* * *

Samus was almost back to the hangar bay her gunship was in when Anthony caught up with her. He was breathing hard, yet not out of breathe yet.

"Hey princess, can I hitch I ride with you, given that the other three want nothing to do with me." She groaned silently, preferring the isolation that she'd been having ever since she became a bounty hunter.

"Sure, Anthony. It's not like this war can get any worse."

A/N: turns out that listening to Metallica seems to help when writing. Weird…of course, so does Metroid Metal.


	5. Chapter 5: A Land Hidden Within

A/N: Thanks to AbsoluteDestruction, Mathiasosx, and Weeeooojr for their reviews. And to Metallica for their music that helps me write for some outlandish reason and Guitar Hero videos on YouTube. Those help also.

New part: thank you to Atomic Sharks for your review.

Chapter 5

A Land Hidden Within

The UNSC Dawn Under Heaven leapt out of slipspace over Elyssia. Half of its D77H-TCI Pelican dropships departed for the surface, preparing for the ensuing assault upon the Galactic Federation stronghold. Noble Three watched as they lowered into the gassy atmosphere. Once the final one disappeared, the Haylon-class cruiser returned to slipspace, heading for Bryyo.

Far below the Pelicans sped towards the main enemy holding, Skytown, while taking fire from the GF marines and artillery stationed on the research facility. From a dropship heading towards one of the farther landing pads, Fredric watched as centralized plasma bolts gunned one of the Pelicans dropping marines onto a landing platform down below. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Linda climbing on top of their Pelican.

"What are you doing Linda?" He calmly asked.

"Just looking at what we have to fight. You can never be to prepared," she retorted. John looked at Fred though his polarized visor, his mind both reflecting on past memories and coming up with new battle strategies.

"You sure this sudden attack of major bases will work? I'm sure that Alpha Halo was more one-sided than this crazy plan…before the Flood got introduced into the mess, that is." Images of that nightmarish battlefield played through his mind every night. A few seconds later Linda came crawling in, a slagged sniper falling from her hands to the ground.

"God damn this Federation. They make my life way to difficult. I'd hate to be Jun on Bryyo where they have land." She looked to Kelly. "To much like Onyx, I'd say."

Right before Kelly could respond their craft was shaken up by a plasma cannon shell that had hit its target. The pilot yelled over her COM. "We're gonna be coming down hard boys and girls. Strap in unless you're a SPARTAN, then just doesn't fall out." They all grabbed onto straps as the dropship fell into Eastern Skytown.

Samus was talking with one of the commanders of the Bryyo security force when a computer went haywire. One of the nearby technicians ran up to the computer. After a couple of futile moments trying to reboot it, he called over the commander. "Um…sir? Come look at this." He walked over, with Samus tagging along, and checked the computer. As the bounty hunter scanned the unit, his brow furled.

"I don't recognize this sort of activity. Miss Aran?" She quickly pressed a couple of buttons upon the screen, checking out her suspicion.

"I think it's a slipspace rupture." The bounty hunter continued to press buttons. She stopped without warning and stood straight up. "No! Commander, get your men ready for battle. The UNSC has arrived. I thought we had more time…" she turned towards the exit. "Send word to Dane that we have a war on our hands now." She soon unloaded a shot into the door, collapsing the shield over it. Technicians and other workers moved out of her way as she stormed down the corridors, marines and regulars alike were rushing to their posts. A feminine voice came through Samus's COM.

"Enemy ship dropping pods. Expect a massive invasion of either the base or the Fuel Gel plant. All federation troops report to your battle positions. Good luck boys." She recognized the voice as an Aurora Unit, but it didn't register as one she knew. Samus soon reached the Fireside Landing pad and quickly entered the 3rd Generation Hunter Class Gunship, known throughout the Federation as Hunter III. Its streamline shape aided her on planets like Phaaze and the Space Pirate Homeworld, along with an advanced array of missiles, grappling cannons, and a medbay/armory.

Pressing a few controls, Samus was airborne and flew out towards the falling pods containing UNSC soldiers. Using a grappling cannon, she tossed one of them into another one, eliciting a small explosion and a huge splash of sparks. A few of them cleared her range and smashed into the ground, moving around for a couple of seconds before opening up. The troops inside surprised her by drawing out rocket launchers, forcing Samus to come out of the sky. This move bought the others time to survive the drop. The ODSTs came out firing lead all over the vicinity of Samus's position. She dodged a couple of rounds before being coerced into her morph ball state by their marksmanship.

The bounty hunter rolled over towards the attacking troops, now occupied with the GF marines that had recently entered the makeshift battlefield. Right before she reached a position where she could lay down a couple of bombs, one of the enemy soldiers cried out in surprise.

"The Hunter!" Before Samus could get out of morph ball form, the man kicked her with tremendous force. Sailing through the sky, the bounty hunter smashed into a nearby wall and fell back into the battlefield. drifting through, the shockwave from an explosion caused the morph ball to drop into a fuel gel tunnel and sink down through.

Listening to all of the rumors circulating through the UNSC local COM, two UH-144 Falcon troop transports hovered down to the surface of the planet. As they neared the surface, two of their passengers jumped out, helping to secure the landing spot. Carter signaled for the crafts to come down from the stone surface. As it slowed towards the ground, Emilie jumped out to join Carter and Six on the ground. The landing force's operating commander had just finished his report to the SPARTANs.

"So this is the dump we're here to take over," he stated, looking around at the surrounding area. The skull upon his helmet stared right at Carter once done. "What have the ODSTs reported beyond that pile of hogwash?"

"Not much." Carter replied. "That bounty hunter who returned Chief disappeared in the fighting. No signs of her since." The other two members walked up to the party.

"So what did we miss?" Jun joked. Unlike the rest of Noble, he had his weapon in hand.

"Nothing, Jun." Carter replied, not in the mood for jokes. "We'll just be going through and aiding in the process of forcing a surrender. Soon after we'll get off planet and rendezvous with Blue on Aliehs III." The rest of Noble pulled their weapons from their backs and ran into the fighting. Emile used his jetpack to fly up above the battlefield and tossed his plasma grenades towards the GF front. One of the grenades stuck onto a marine's powered armor, turning off the shields long enough for the blue orb to explode, killing the marine and sending two others backwards.

Suddenly a blast of green plasma soared from a Federation soldier. Six watched Emile fall from the sky, his Mark Xi armor smoking.

"Sorry guys. The overpowered, blue bounty hunter has momentarily fried my armor. This piece of garbage has locked up and my shields are down. Go kill some of those fools while I try to get my shit together." Emile calmly spoke over the COM.

Carter sighed. "Kat, help our stubborn fool over there. Jun, go find some hole or cliff from where you can provide some support while Six and myself help do the job we came to do." He turned to Six. "What's your real name? I'm getting tired of referring to you as a number you don't even fill."

He gulped. "Matt, sir. That's my real name." Emile snickered. Carter ignored him and signaled for them to move to their positions with a single finger. Nobles One and Six charged into the fray, their assault rifles spitting lead at the soldiers of the Galactic Federation. They hit one of the massive boulders in the ruined plaza, letting the Federation waste ammo on it. Matt spotted a pile of liquid out of the corner of his eye. Curious, he started to scan the mysterious material.

"Um…sir? What is that stuff?" He quickly sent a scan to Carter for his to check it.

"Looks like that "fuel gel" our enemies need so much, Matt. You got anything to ignite it?" As he finished his words, Matt pulled a blue object from his armor. Taking a few practice swings, he tossed his only plasma grenade onto the fuel gel. Exploding on contact, the gel burned for a few seconds before it left a gaping hole in the floor. Spotting suspicious scraps of alien alloys, Six came to a quick decision based upon suspicions, previous experience, and family history.

Breathing in twice, Matt sprinted hard for the hole, diving head first for it as Carter screamed for him to stop. Having no clue of what was waiting, the SPARTAN wasn't surprised by what was there.

An endless hole to plummet through.

A/N: Yeah…took me long enough. Halloween is closing in!


	6. Chapter 6: A Spartan's Wish

New part: thank you AbsoluteDestruction for reviewing the previous version of this chapter.

A/N: I have to thank Atomic Sharks for your review and why didn't you review katanamaster4?

Chapter 6

A Spartan's Wish

Chief stood up, pieces of the wrecked Pelican falling to his feet. Fred and Linda were following suit, now just getting up, along with the few marines who survived the crash landing. Kelly and Jorge were already waiting at their rendezvous point with Unit 5D and 7C further into East Skytown. John paused for a moment when a faint coughing sound came from the wreckage. Digging in, he found another live marine.

"Nice to see you back in the land of the living, marine. We're going to need as many of your type in this war." The marine mumbled his thanks as he pulled a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle from the wreckage.

"So what's going on, John?" Fred asked as he issued Linda an SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle. "How does a handful of marines survive a crash while two SPARTANs perished?" He turned to the marines. "No offense." They just nodded, knowing what he had meant.

"They jumped out right before we made landfall," he answered. "They supplied me with a plausible rendezvous point through the new COM links just before impact." The others just gave him thumbs up, understanding the plan. The small band of soldiers departed. On their trip to the meet up point, an unfamiliar gunship passed by. The marines made comments about how the only Federation, their assumption, they've seen is too scared to fight them. Just moments after it passed, Cortana finally spoke up.

"I saw that on a file in Samus's computer, so it's confirmed to be Federation." This caught John's attention and he stopped, a couple of meters ahead of the others.

"What is it then, Cortana?" he asked.

"A transport ship used by the GF. Unfortunately I, although it's more your fault in this situations, wasn't able to get a good enough view of the hull. We could've figured out who they were…maybe." Fred stepped up to where Master Chief was.

"I'm going to send a message up to Kelly and Jorge to keep a look out for that ship," the other SPARTAN said.

"No need for that," came a deep voice from above. Soon Jorge and Kelly both jumped down to where the others were. "We just got word from Noble that the new Five has gone missing. Knowing him, he'll show back up with a number of skulls, some new weapon, and a good story." John listened to Cortana complain about the "lone wolf syndrome" that SPARTANs would contract whenever they could.

"So what's the plan now, Fred?" Kelly asked. The other four soon huddled around their tactician. The marines just stood around, watching the skies.

"I'm thinking our best move would to chase after the ship we all saw earlier. It could be our best chance at getting back into the conflict going on and could throw the battle in our favor." The others agreed, but Cortana had some other plans.

"Part of the declaration of war includes a "Prime Directive 4", in which it says that whenever possible, our forces are to claim victory while killing as few enemies as possible, since we'll unite at war's end. Going off of this, I think it would be best for John to head to the Aurora Unit and shut down their defenses. At that point we can force a surrender." John had a bad feeling about this sort of plan, given last time in this type of situation he had almost lost Cortana to the Flood. Fred thought over it for a while before replying.

"Ok, Cortana. John will take you to the Aurora Unit." Turning to the others, he gave them instructions. "Linda, I want you above us as we travel towards the main part of this floating city. Jorge, you take point and Kelly, cover our 6. I'll try to get some Covenant assistance for our attack here."

"That'd be pointless, Fredric," Cortana snorted. "The Covenant is currently fighting the Space Pirate deserters at Tallon IV. Calling them here could give the enemy the upper hand and lose us a valuable ally." John shrugged to the others. He had learned long ago not to argue with an AI.

"Ok, Cortana. John, I'd suggest you get going now. The sooner you get up there the better." As he started off and up a steep hill, the small unit of marines came running up. "Fred told us to come with you." Chief acknowledged them with silence. Once up the cliff, he quickly dove behind a rock, having just spotted the GF ship. The marines charged the five soldiers in blue armor surrounding the craft looked over some data modules while the SPARTAN attempted the stealth route. When the familiar gunfire ended before the enemies, he feared the worst. Stopping and looking up from cover, he saw that the Federation soldiers were fine.

"Hey you! Come over here!" One of them had spotted him. John cursed his luck and drew his assault rifle.

"Make me!" He yelled out from behind cover. Right before he could look over the ridge of the rock, automatic fire chipped it apart right at where his helmet was. The Galactic Federation army used similar weaponry to the UNSC, he noticed. One hand holding the gun, the other against the rock, he waited for one of them to start reloading. Soon, the majority of them were reloading. Knowing this, he fled from his cover and started for the door he had been heading for. John knew that what he was doing know was cowardly, given his record, but he knew that it was more important to conserve ammo now so he could have it for when the Federation assaulted his position at the Aurora Unit.

He heard shouts about usage of ice beam-based weapons, but he ignored it. The only way they could hit him was with a sniper rifle and it appeared none of them had one. He was almost to the door leading inside when he tripped. Looking down, he saw that his feet were frozen together. Pulling his legs apart, the ice chunk holding his legs together broke apart. As he started to get up, more blasts followed, knocking him down. He heard Cortana send out a distress signal to the rest of Blue, but he was sure they wouldn't get here in time.

Soon all five surrounded him. One of them pressed a button besides his head and the visor flipped up. Cortana gasped inside of John's head. "That's Commander Adam Malkovich. He was Samus's superior officer during her stint with the GF army."

"That's just peachy Cortana. Get me out of this situation." He barked back, still watching Adam. He thanked the fact he hadn't activated the helmet's exterior speaking interface.

The man spoke. "Good night, Reclaimer." A giant blast of electricity flew through the armor, sending the SPARTAN into unconsciousness.

* * *

Samus cursed silently. Some foolish soldier had set the fuel gel she was slowing sinking through on fire. Once down to this cavern, she had checked her energy tank levels. _Eight out of thirteen left_, she thought in annoyance. Soon her eyes caught sight of someone in armor. A large crash echoed through the roomy cave as Samus snuck around to get a better look. Spotting the person who had fallen down, she damned her good luck.

Pulling himself from the ground was another SPARTAN, something Samus didn't have time to deal with. _There are more of them?_ She asked herself in both anger and annoyance. The super soldier started looking around, making good use of the flashlight under the barrel of his gun. She charged up her ice beam from behind a rock, waiting for him to look the other way. Once his head was fully turned from her, she fired it right at the base of his neck. A smile broke on her face as the blast froze part of his armor together and knocked him off of his feet.

Scanning the tunnel, Samus started to tap buttons on her arm cannon while the boosters on the back of her armor started to charge. _45 seconds…44…43…_the countdown began to read. It had just reached being halfway done when the sound of ice cracking woke Samus from her temporary dream-like state. She watched as he stood up, massaging the spot where the shot had landed. He looked up right at where she was standing.

"Cheap little…" he was cut off by the boosters activating, sending Samus back up to the surface. As she climbed up the tunnel, bullets started to ricochet all around the tunnel, starting chipping away at her energy tanks. But then a direct hit to the boosters spurned another malfunction out of her Power Armor.

"Not again," she complained as the boosters failed part way up the shaft. This wasn't her day.

A/N: late and bad, this is what happens when you decide to be very lazy. So make sure to flame. I probably deserve it.


	7. Chapter 7: Out of the Pan

New part: thank you to Absolute Destruction, Wraith Five, and JacobAndTaryn for the reviews.

A/N: thank you AbsoluteDestruction. I had almost lost all hope in you, but you came through with a review. And then The reclaimer 2416, where's the review, huh? I saw what you did and I'm a little annoyed. Maybe you'll make up for it. Hint hint.

Chapter 7

Out of the Pan

Matt-B312 watched the orange hunteress fall back into the cave. When she had taken off for the skies like the sabres from Reach, he did the only thing he could think of: try shooting her down. He smiled when his efforts turned out to be successful, but now he had to throw together some sort of plan for fighting the Hunter, as the UNSC's newest non-human allies referred to her. He had seen a couple of reports about some of her "exploits" in the employment of the Galactic Federation, but there was nothing about tactics. Soon she came crashing down, sending shards of rocks all around the room, creating a good-sized crater in the center of the room.

The room erupted in flames as Samus sent a multitude of missiles all over the room. The SPARTAN had shot her down and she wasn't going to let him get away with it. She spotted a person running from rock to rock, trying to dodge the barrage of missile. In a flash she was right on his location, firing off plasma beam shots. His shields were able to withstand five shots before deactivating, which then he changed tactics.

Matt knew it was foolish, but he was at the crossroads of existence. Moving faster than believed possible, he grabbed her by the throat and threw her across the room. Pulling herself off of the ground, she jumped through the chamber at random, a charged plasma beam bolt held on the end of her cannon arm. His shields were finally back up, angering him_. These shields have to be slower than a retarded grunt_, he thought. Matt barely made it out of the way of the blast as shrapnel came flying around. Soon a bomb came falling down from the hole, distracting both of them.

Matt ran for the wall, squatting down upon arrival. An enormous eruption lifted Samus off of her feet, slamming her against the ceiling of the cave. The SPARTAN remained crouched, watching the Hunter take brunt of the blast while he was just smashed up against the wall, dropping the shields. He smiled when he spotted her, probably knocked out from the blast. Soon a rope fell from the hole, almost as if a sign. Matt ran over to it and began to climb up as quickly as he could. Once on the surface, he ran over to the rest of Noble, all hunkered around an AI projector.

"So what happened down there, Matt?" Carter asked.

"Nothing to big. Ran into our Hunter friend, you know. You?"

"After you went down Command issued a retreat. We're the only beings involved in the battle left on the planet, and it turns out Blue is having some problems."

"As in…?"

"John-117, better known as the Master Chief, has been captured by the Galactic Federation - somehow. We're being sent to Elyssia to support the rescue, well almost all of us." Matt looked at them, already knowing what was going to happen.

"So where the hell is Command sending me?" He asked.

Kat was first to answer. "You'll be deployed to a planet called Aether. Your goal is to investigate the planet and its natural population. Apparently they could be a major help in the war, if we could get them to join us. The strategists say their loyalties lie only with the Hunter, out of every other person." Matt groaned, knowing his job was even harder now.

"That's nice. So when do I go?"

Carter just smiled. "When we finally get off of this rock." A Falcon moved into view 300 meters away. Noble Team was only 50 meters away when a rocket came flying past, destroying the Falcon. They turned to find the Hunter III right behind them, locking on Matt. His eyes widened within his helmet before he took off running. In a rash decision, he decided to run underneath the bounty hunter's gunship, hoping to give the others a chance to get airborne in anything. A blue light began to grow as he got closer and closer before he realized what it was. A charged shot from her legendary ice beam.

His boots moved sloppily over the rocky terrain, preventing him from being able to dodge the shot. It smashed right into his face, dropping the armor's shields and knocking him onto his back. A second shot froze him over and his eyes closed. The gunship lowered near his body as the rest of Noble started to fire on the ship, surprised by the sudden turn in events. After a few seconds Carter realized they were missing another person: Emile.

"Get on the Pelican behind you guys. I'm not going to wait for that woman to shoot rockets at me. Six is a tough cookie and can handle himself." Noble turned to see their final escape: a Pelican left behind in case anything went nasty. Jun and Kat got in fast, calling out to Carter. He remained standing there, watching the orange figure of the bounty hunter pick up the body and load it into her ship.

"We'll be back for you, Matt." He quietly whispered before getting on the Pelican. It was soon off the planet and docked with the UNSC Dawn Under Heaven as a small fleet of Sangheili cruisers pulled into orbit. Soon fiery bombs of plasma hurtled down to the planets surface. Many of the older crewmen of the Dawn Under Heaven recognized the process of planet-wide glassing, a few of them there at Reach. Carter could only reflect on knowledge that Matt had died right before that event.

* * *

She was confused. Samus continued to ponder how the SPARTAN-III in her brig could be so easy to capture after their 'fight' in the cavern. Right after checking back in with HQ, UNSC-allied forces began to bomb the planet. Reports had been coming in about how every part of the planet was being fired upon when she made her escape. Knowing their plans, Samus was currently in route to Aether via Aliehs III. She hoped that U-Mos, the only Luminoth she had officially spoke with, was still around. It had been almost five years since that incident and the Ing still plagued her nightmares, when it wasn't Ridley or Dark Samus visiting.

Samus was sure that she'd need to switch to the Hunter II gunship, her most recognizable craft, to avoid minor conflict with the Luminoth. She knew they were somewhat peaceful, but given they had spent half a decade fighting the Ing she knew they had to be a tough opponent. Soon she was out of hyperspace and two Stiletto-class fighters escorted her towards Docking Bay E, her private docks on the shipyard world. Upon landing, a multitude of GF workers came running out, asking a number of questions and starting repairs on the gunship.

The headman walked up to her. "Anything I can do for you, Miss Aran?"

"Yes," she began, "I have a prisoner in my ship. I'd say he'd be considered hyper-lethal. Get him to a freeze chamber before he wakes and ship him out to Norion. Other than that, the only thing I really need is to take the Hunter II gunship. It's involved with the war. Intel said I should head to Aether." She knew it was a lie, but if she were able to get some sort of trump card over the UNSC for the GF, they'd forgive her. The real instructions had been to report to the main fleet and guard the new prisoner – now prisoners.

"Of course, Miss Aran. You should be ready for departure in two minutes." He began waving his arms and shouting as more men came out and began to fill up the gunship. She'd give them some benefit of the doubt over leaving it unfilled. It seemed like hours before she was able to take off, not the two minutes he had claimed it would take. Soon the SPARTAN would be in Federation hands and she'd be back on Aether. Even as bad as it was, it was one of the better places she had ended up in her line of work.

Having taken off, another hyperspace jump landed her in orbit around Aether. After a less bumpy arrival, she found herself right outside the Great Temple with some of the Luminoth looking frightened. She wasn't sure what had gotten into them, but she was sure it was just fears of the Ing somehow returning. Landing in the place she had on her first visit, a group of Luminoth was there, waiting. Samus lost herself in thoughts over their behavior, as she was lead to the place where she had met U-Mos long ago. Stepping into the Main Energy Controller room, the elders looked to her. U-Mos came forward first.

"So the child of the Chozo returns to us," he said in a pained tone, "just like how prophecy foretold." He turned to the other elders. "As given in the prophecy, we must give her our two most important artifacts, for our planet has reached the end of its Second Cycle." Samus stared at him, confused. Before she could voice any questions, another Luminoth started to talk.

"We were given long ago a prophecy that foretell a child of the Chozo coming to our planet at its most desperate hour and saving us. The second time she came though, would be our doom. As a way to protect the future, we were to give the child two powerful objects. You have already experienced both of them." His hands rose above his head and a light formed.

"The Light Suit and the Light of Aether, we give to you." It rocketed towards her, eclipsing the Hunter in a bright light. The light soon faded, revealing a transformed Samus. Her armor had become silver and streamlined. The visor and four circular parts of the chest plate glowed the same blue as the plasma grenades used by the UNSC force. And then the same sound Samus had heard before the fight on Bryyo began.

In a desperate attempt, she turned to the elders. "Please come with me and help fight the enemy who attacks your beautiful planet!" They looked to each other for a couple of moments as the sound grew louder and louder.

U-Mos looked down, worried. "We will fight beside you, child of the Chozo. But only on this planet. Once the Cycle ends in 77 minutes, we will no longer be part of this war. I hope you are happy with your choice."

_The Battle of Aether has begun, but at what price_? Samus asked herself.

* * *

The GFS Enkidu was on a quick course for Norion, holding SPARTAN-B312 within a cyrosleep capsule. As they reached the Federation stronghold, a smaller GF skiff came hurtling out of hyperspace. Soon a slipspace rupture expelled two Corvettes, chasing after the skiff recklessly. The Enkidu, along with two other Griffin-class battle cruisers moved into a position between the three crafts, giving the skiff time to escape to Norion.

A random shot from a Corvette destroyed the skiff. Luckily for all, the important cargo was fired off in an escape pod towards the Enkidu. It drifted into the tractor beam's range and was pulled in. Crewmen moved the new cyrosleep capsule to the same chamber as the other while the Federation ships forced the Corvettes to run. With the bounties of both SPARTAN-B312 and newly acquired SPARTAN-117, the Enkidu began to lower itself into the upper atmosphere.

A/N: wow. I think this may be a new record for this fic. So go ahead and either make fun of my plot, my writing, or actually give a good review. Or just review.

Flames welcomed because I can always use a good laugh.


	8. Chapter 8: Into the Fire

New part: thank you to AbsoluteDestruction and JacobAndTaryn for the reviews.

A/N: thanks to AbsoluteDestruction, Mr. Gasbomb, and JacobAndTayrn for the reviews. You all are awesome, just like me.

Chapter 8

Into the Fire

His eyes flickered open. The last thing he remembered was being captured by a group of enemy soldiers back on Elyssia after the slaughter of the marines following him. Him, John-117 – also known as the Master Chief, captured by normal regulars. He shook his head at the thought when another cyrotube was rolled into the room he was stuck in. Once they left, he silently slipped out of the unit. To his surprise, SPATAN-B312 was in the new unit. Chief walked over to a control panel and opened the other one up.

He didn't know why, but he had been placed into a defective unit. He considered himself lucky to be alive, but he knew he was on a GF ship going somewhere. After the machine opened up, he waited a few moments for the other to defrost. Noble Six rose from his 'casket'.

"Where am…" he stopped when he spotted Chief holding his mouth shut. Chief motioned him to take the left side of the door leading into the cyrotube chamber before counting down.

"3…2…1…" echoed through the inner COM link.

They rushed through the door, running towards freedom.

* * *

Samus continued to watch the Luminoth fight the Covenant Remnant portion of the UNSC-allies force. Three Elites, class Zealot, took on one of the younger looking Luminoth, all coming from different directions. The one from the front charged in as the two back ones leapt up. The Luminoth grabbed the first Zealot and swung him through his comrades before using some sort of light weapon to dispatch them. A stray plasma bolt forced Samus out of her audience-like state. She jumped high into the air, moving out of the sight of the Covenant Former, fighting with the Remnant only because it made them both stronger. As she reached the apex of the jump, she fired down a hail of Annihilator beam shots, watching them cause tremendous havoc on the invading force. If she ever got the chance, she'd have to thank U-Mos for this surprising gift.

She rolled into the morph ball form on landing and rolled under the legs of a brute, leaving behind a super bomb. The resulting explosion wiped out a small portion of the force, but a number of leaders were taken out, sending the grunts into mass chaos. Her attention soon moved onto an approaching Elite, energy sword in hand. She quickly charged up the Annihilator beam before urging the enemy on. She watched patiently as it charged in her direction, the bladed weapon held behind its body. The swing moved in slow motion to Samus, giving her time to move out of the way. As it continued to move forward, she shot the enemy in the back. The charged shot started to restrict the movement of the Elite as she prepared a super missile. It exploded into pieces after she shot it into the enemy's back, small pieces smearing onto her armor. Samus started to move back into the fray when U-Mos yelled into her mind.

_Get off planet! We'll provide as much protection as we can. You need to get the other major artifacts that Phazon almost touched, and then you'll need the Reclaimer of Light_. Her face scrunched up under her helmet. She had no clue what the Reclaimer of Light meant, but she had an idea of where she'll need to go to find out.

_Thanks, U-Mos_, she thought, _and thank you for adding the Annihilator beam to the armor. Good luck_, she added.

_Good luck to you, child of the Chozo_.

* * *

Samus ran off in the direction of her gunship. As she ran through the rubble, blue globs of plasma came hurtling down. Samus dove forward just to avoid one of the shots. As she continued to run towards her gunship, a voice came in over her COM.

"Hey Princess. I'm right below the cliff you're near." Samus stopped and looked around before another glob crashed on top of her. An energy tank disappeared.

"Anthony, we need to get out of this system. I know where we'll need to go before we return to Norion." She started running for the cliff.

"Ok, Princess. You don't need to be so angry all the time and we were never on Norion in this war." The gunship moved into view at the edge of the cliff just as Samus leapt off of the cliff. The roof hatch opened up and she was lowered back into the Hunter II. Samus quickly tapped a button as she moved up into the cockpit. Her helmet had already dematerialized by the time she reached Anthony.

"Did you really have to go and steal my ship?" He didn't raise his visor, but just proceeded to talk.

"And let it become slag? You're crazier than I thought, Princess." Samus just glared at him as he started to pull away from the planet. She sat down into the extra chair she had installed, opening up the star chart.

"Where we off to, Princess?" Anthony asked, watching her actions cautiously. She knew that Aether was going through the process of being glassed, something used by the Covenant in their war with the UNSC. Why the Federation had never looked into the technology was beyond her. The Space Pirates had almost used it on Earth-Beta.

"Tallon IV, Anthony. We're going to Tallon IV. Then we'll need to go to find the GFS Olympus. That's where I guess they'll take the SPARTAN I caught and I'll need to interrogate him." She sat back and closed her eyes as Anthony plotted their course. Soon the ship was in hyperspace and she was sound asleep.

* * *

Matt slid across the floor, heading for another piece of cover. He was trying to protect John, currently trying to open up the blast doors in the hangar. After discovering they were over Norion, they had snuck into the hangar and tried to steal a dropship. When they just happened to get caught, the Chief ran over to one of the control panels and then started to hack, with some aid from Cortana.

"Come on Chief! Finish up with this door!" Matt yelled back. He was tired of the seemingly endless amount of marines. He had already gone through all of their weapons and even a couple weapons that used to belong to some headstrong marines. He sat back behind his current piece of melting cover when the doors suddenly opened. John came running up, sticking Cortana back into his helmet.

"We got 77 seconds to get out. We're jumping." He continued to sit there as John ran towards the airlock. The timer uploaded to his HUD was counting down the seconds. 53 seconds left. Matt leapt over the barrier and started running for the airlock. He was almost there when he saw Chief go over the edge. He had already done this once, back on Reach, but he knew this was different. Norion was the base of the Federation's military and they had little to none Intel on the planet. Soon he was at the edge and, against all evolutionary instincts, jumped.

As he fell, a slipspace rupture occurred right below him. Emerging from it was a portion of the UNSC Navy; along with quiet a bit of the Covenant Remnant. Upon their arrival, they opened fire on the ship he had jumped out of, a couple of shots just shy from vaporizing him. Two sabres flew between the fleets, one for him and one for Chief, Matt assumed. One of the sabres pulled up to his path, the hatch opening up. He pulled himself into the open chair, closing the hatch as he buckled in.

"Nice to see you're still alive." Matt smiled at the familiar voice of Jorge, one of the few friends he had made in both lives.

"It's nice to be back. You probably heard what happened to me, I guess," Six said. He still preferred his old number. His hand, with no guidance from his brain, pulled the trigger as more GF fighters moved in front of them.

"Yeah I did. They pulled me out and replaced myself and the Chief with Emile and Carter." Jorge was doing a good job of piloting, but Matt was sure he could do just a little bit better.

"What about Kat?" Matt continued to fire on the enemies.

"I'm flying the other one, Six." He smiled when he heard the voice. It was nice to be back with his team. As the battle intensified, so did Jorge's language.

"Gorramed Federation fighters! Six, switch me controls. You dump this can and I'll light him up." Matt quickly pressed the button to switch the controls around. With a couple of quick moves, they were right behind the Stiletto-class fighter used by the Federation. A missile easily removed their problem, but more would be there soon.

"Hey Jorge. What's the name of the giant ship I jumped out of?"

"GFS Olympus. It's the flagship of the Federation. Why do you ask?" Matt just started laughing. He turned straight up towards it and powered the boosters.

"It's time to pay them a visit Jorge. I may be crazy, but I have a bad feeling that it's just genetic." He ignored the groan and continued forward.

* * *

Platoon 07 was moving into the bowels of Skytown when a radio message came in. "Aether has been glassed by the UNSC fleet. Known casualties include all members of the Luminoth race. It is unknown what has become of Lt. Anthony Higgs and Bounty Hunter Samus Aran. We'll keep you posted as more information comes in." They all stopped momentarily. Many had fought besides the two and some even considered both to be good friends.

Adam finally spoke up. "Ok, boys. Now we have something to fight for. This used to be a war they forced upon us, but now this is a battle for lost friends and for an entire race that was wiped out." Cheering, they continued to push forward.

* * *

The bluish glow of Tallon IV woke Samus from her light sleep. The only sound she heard was static. "You stopped transmissions Anthony?" He just nodded, still looking forward. She turned away and looked down on the planet. A tear rolled down her face as the memories of what had transpired on that planet played through her head. Sometimes she wished she could go back in time and destroy Metroid Prime before it had destroyed the planet as much as it had.

The gunship rocked a little as they flew down to the surface. Samus directed Anthony towards the Crater entrance; the place she had fought Meta-Ridley. The ship landed in its usual, graceful way. Samus climbed out, not even taking the time to rematerialize her helmet. The soft rain started to mat down her hair onto the armor as 16 glowing spots appeared around her as a ghost appeared in front of Samus.

"You have returned here, child. What is it that you seek?"

Instinct the bounty hunter didn't recognize took over. "The 16 artifacts of the Chozo. And also the name of the Reclaimer of Light." The ghost smiled at her bluntness. The purpose they would serve was unknown to her. Just like with the Light of Aether.

"I'll give you both, but you'll need to go through a trial." She scowled at the ghost before questioning it.

"So what will you have me do? Jump through burning rings?" It laughed at her.

"No, child. It's a quiz. I doubt you'll be able to get this right so I'll give you a chance to ask someone for the answer. You won't know who it is or will they know it's you." She nodded. "The name of the Master Chief is John, as you know. Well, in a religious book on the UNSC's Earth called the Bible there is a portion called the Book of John, named after its writer. The section its in is called the Gospel, or 'the good news'. It just happens to be the last book in that section." The ghost was circling her.

"So, I'm guessing he has a brother named after the first part?" The Chozo ghost stopped, surprised by Samus's ingenuity.

"Yes. The first book in the Gospel is the Book of Matthew. Did you know that of the ten remaining SPARTANs one of them is named Matthew?"

"Of course not. Does John know he has a biological brother in the service?" The figure laughed.

"Don't be so foolish, child. You ready for your…call?" Samus glared before a voice echoed through the cave like chamber.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my head?" Her eyes grew in size. That was one of the voices from Bryyo.

"If you answer my question, I'll answer yours." She waited.

"Ok." Samus breathed out in relief.

"What is the service code for the SPARTAN named Matthew?" The bounty hunter waited.

"I know a SPARTAN named Matt. Do you think he's the one you know?" The gears in her head started to whirl. The name sounded familiar, but she had to press on.

"Yes he is. What is his service code? And if you're worried about a court marshalling, don't. I have good contacts." Samus started to smile as she remembered one of the teachers at the Academy said she should've gone into espionage.

"His service code is B312. So, now my questions." Samus cursed under her breath. She was sure she wouldn't have to do this. The Chozo ghost nodded his head.

"My supernatural friend hacked into your mind…and my name is Samus Aran. I'd suggest you give Matt-B312 your farewell." She felt the connection break as the artifacts flew towards her. A strange feeling went through her as a message displayed on the HUD. _Chozo Artifacts Gained_, it said. She turned towards the landing spot, the Hunter II moving in her direction. The lower entry point opened and she jumped in.

Back in the cockpit with Anthony, she noticed a new location on the star chart. "Anthony, what did you add in?" He finally looked at her.

"I didn't add anything in Samus. What does the label say?" She looked over it, again and again.

"Halo Array Number 7." Turning away from the chart, she looked at him. "I don't have a good feeling about it Anthony."

A/N: when something has the name of Halo Array Number 7, it means there'll be an extra side of awesome. Enjoy and Merry Christmas. In 6 days.


	9. Chapter 9: A Hunter's Desire

New part: thank you to AbsoluteDestruction for reviewing this chapter.

A/N: well…it's been what, four months? Track has already started and so far I've just been running the 1600m.

And thank you to AbsoluteDestruction and JacobAndTayrn for their reviews.

Chapter 9

A Hunter's Desire

The Hunter II arrived at Norion in the midst of a space battle. The cloaking device soon activated and they entered the battlefield, unnoticed. She knew Dane would get foul-tempered over this course of action, but Anthony was easy to convince.

"Ok Princess. We're within range of the Olympus. Should we send a message or just do the whole 'reappear-in-the-hangar' thing." Samus didn't turn to look at him; her eyes remained forward on their target. "It's the reappear-in-the-hangar thing, isn't it?"

"Don't worry about it too much, Anthony. I know what I'm doing," she answered. Saying that reminded her of past events that she didn't wish to dwell on, instead just burying it for another day.

"That's what you said right before you failed to rescue Commander Malkovich's younger brother, Samus," Anthony reminded her. He couldn't see it, but she closed her eyes for a second. "Once we're within 75 meters of the Olympus we should reveal ourselves. We'll be far enough away that Dane's temper won't get too out of hand, but close enough to avoid any serious attacks by Hood's forces." She gave no reply, having forgotten that the UNSC wasn't led by the SPARTANs that had plagued her throughout the war, but by an aging man named Hood. The one who started the war.

As the gunship neared the Olympus, the bounty hunter spotted two fighters flying up towards the Galactic Federation's signature ship; the one they had been heading towards. Instincts and reflexes sent Samus's hands to three different controls. A couple clicks and two rockets were fired, each aimed at one of the fighters. It went against most of her beliefs on fighting, but she hadn't thought the entire thing through. Performing quick evasive maneuvers, the fighters were able to eliminate the rockets and came hurtling down towards the gunship. At least, where it had been. They paused for a moment, trying to find the enemy they knew was there, but couldn't see.

Samus jumped from her chair, her helmet rematerializing. Tapping some buttons near the roof hatch, a tube came down around her before she was lifted up into the vacuum of space. "Anthony!" she called through the COM. "Disable the cloak and head towards Landing Bay C. They'll find us soon and I want to keep the upper hand." The Olympus had already figured out what was going on and was initiating landing protocols.

"Ok Princess. I hope you know what you're doing." He mumbled, shaking his head. As the gunship rose to the given coordinates from the Olympus, the bounty hunter started to scan the battle, searching for the Sabres. She soon found them rocketing from behind, the machine guns opening fire. The armor magnetized to the gunship, she started to fire the annihilator beam, aiming for the cockpit of each ship.

Screaming for Landing Bay C, the gunship and the two pursuing Sabres continued to dance through space, trying not to get taken down by the other. Her arm cannon switching to missiles, Samus sent a quick message to Anthony.

"Well, I just can't fire on the Olympus, Samus. That's treason."

"I don't care right now, Anthony. They aren't doing anything to help us out with our problem." A different UNSC got destroyed in the crossfire with the sabres right before Samus continued. "I can't do everything all the time. Sometimes even a god needs help."

Laughing, Anthony continued her thoughts. "In your case it's more like goddess. I'll send them those flash-rockets you had installed seventeen months ago…and haven't even used once."

Rolling her eyes, Samus tried to ignore Anthony. Hopefully this little plan will get her the aid necessary to eliminate the sabres…and get her closer to the SPARTAN she needs.

* * *

Matt continued to mentally write out Jorge's flagrant language. The sabre he was in, along with one containing Kat and the Chief, were on a crash course with the GF flagship known as the Olympus. An old friend of theirs, Samus Aran, had jumped into the battle part way in and was now leading them in. She was also on the hull of her ship firing an unknown weapon that could eat a fighter up in seconds.

"Jorge, stop fooling around and just aim for her cannon! That may be our only chance!" Kat yelled through the COM. He agreed with the order in his head before returning to his task of avoiding the shots from her weapon. The gunship was nearing a landing area inside of the original target, which worked out well for the SPARTANs, Matt decided.

"You boys ready to go crash their party?" Smiling at Kat's question, Matt drove the Sabre up into the hangar. He had a rematch waiting and he wasn't going to lose this time.

* * *

Samus leapt up and grabbed the bottom edge of a shaft upon entrance to Landing Bay C. She rolled up into morph ball form and traveled fast through the pipes leading to an upper platform. Below her Anthony flew the Hunter II deeper into the hangar, playing the act of the bait. The two UNSC fighters rose into the hangar and she fired a volley of missiles. One of the enemy ships crashed onto the holographic floor of the hangar while the other continued after the gunship.

The bounty hunter stepped up to the edge and watched the two super soldiers get out of the fighter. She recognized one of them as the one she needed, but the other one worried her; he had pulled a very large gun out of the ship. They conversed with each other before scanning the upper regions of the room. The more dangerous one of the two spotted her and aimed his weapon up. Stepping in front of Six, he spoke. "I'll deal with our friend here."

Her smile hidden by the helmet, Samus spoke before he could fire. "I never thought you'd be one to fight a woman." The large SPARTAN paused. "Exactly," she tacked on.

He tossed down his weapon and started to walk around, staring up. "You know what, bounty hunter? I'll take you on. Hand to hand, no guns." She looked down at him for a moment, contemplating his offer. She smirked underneath her helmet before jumping down. She landed on her toes before diving out to limit damage. The arm cannon changed, forming a second hand. As she stood up to full height, she taunted him. "Let's see what you can do, tin can."

He charged, dropping both his shoulders and his sight of the enemy. Samus stood still, waiting as he approached. Just as he reached her, she moved. The hunter jumped up onto his back and smashed her left palm into the back of his helmet. Her opponent slid out from beneath her and eventually stopped. He didn't make any movements.

Samus looked back at him. "I'd suggest you stay down, if you can hear me." Turning to Matt, her smile returned. Her visor lit up, disguising emotions. "Now the fun shall begin. Right, Matt?" He did nothing to reveal any sort of surprise. Instead, he drew a Designated Marksman Rifle from his back and began to fire at her, trying not to hit the downed SPARTAN. She evaded the bullets with ease, even daring to let some of them get closer than what would be healthy.

The bullets continued to come, but she noticed that they became less frequent. Her arm cannon returned and Then Matt spoke. "You should watch your back, hunteress." She stopped still, pondering the meaning of his statement. It made no sense until two meaty arms grappled around her body.

"You could learn something from us, you know," he said. Samus flailed around in his arms like an angry child. Multiple hits to the exposed area above his knees helped to weaken his grip. With the finesse only possessed by metahumans, the hunter flipped both herself and the SPARTAN holding her. He soon reached a point where he couldn't keep his feet on the ground. That was when she made her move. Her armor condensed down to the zero suit form and she slid around his body until they had flipped places. Once done with that, the armor returned to normal form. They landed with the hunter standing and Jorge in her arms. Samus then threw him away.

"That was a very tricky move. Can't let you try anything like that again." He approached her, moving slower than he had the first time. Once he was within range of Samus, she lunged forward, hoping to get him on the defensive. The knife moved to block her arm cannon while his other hand snatcher her left hand. "That was foolish, to say the least."

"You haven't seen anything yet." The hunter spotted the gunship returning and began to laugh. "You'll just love what I have up my sleeve."

* * *

Matt stood there on the sidelines of a fight between Jorge and the bounty hunter. Not only was he bothered by what she had just said, but also he was still confused as to why none of the Federation soldiers had shown up yet to intervene. As it got closer, a realization came to him.

"Jorge! It's coming around to remove you from the fight! Pull back to where I a-" He got pushed back by the shockwave of a plasma based weapon being fired. The bounty hunter started walking in his direction, leaving the other SPARTAN lying on the ground. Chaos was taking over as marines stormed into the doors. She stopped seven feet away.

"I hope your brother is crazy enough to follow us to Array Number 7." He gave her a confused look through his helmet. He didn't know what brother she spoke of or what the 'Array Number 7' was.

"You're crazy," was all he said back. He watched as two prongs emerged from the arm cannon. The bounty hunter then lunged at him.

"Not yet." He crumpled up as she pulled the cannon away from him. His suit started to shut down as his eyes closed from the electrical storm in his armor.

* * *

Samus walked towards the landed gunship, dragging Matt behind her. Anthony is leaning up against one of the landing posts as she approaches.

"So you got what you came for, I guess." She just nodded. Pressing a few buttons of the side of the ship, a hatch opened and a pad came out. She lifted the man up and slammed him down. Latching him up, she closed the hatch on the SPARTAN.

"I'm going to those coordinates. Give them to both fleets and tell them to come running." As she climbed into the gunship, Anthony looked up at her.

"What are you going to do?"

Smiling to herself, she replied. "End this war."

* * *

Chief watched from orbit as the gunship flew away. As it started to make the jump to hyperspace, the name of the location she was flying to was sent to him.

I'm taking your brother to Halo Array Number 7.

Come stop me.

A/N: well, that's some interesting stuff. Enjoy guys. It's spring break.


	10. Chptr 10: The Story Ends Where it Begins

A/N: thank you to AbsoluteDestruction for his constant support and reviews. Also, after taking in some other reviews into consideration, I've decided that after this chapter, I'm going to go back and edit all of the other chapters. Also, I'm working on a novel and if you wish to be involved with editing it, please PM me. Otherwise, enjoy what will be the final chapter of Demon Hunter…for now.

Chapter 10

The Story Ends Where it Begins

The first thing Matt noticed when he woke up was a group of birds flying in lazy circles over his location. Pushing himself up from off of the ground, he spotted a pistol off to his right. Grabbing it, the HUD display revealed that it only had one bullet. Placing it into his hip holster, the SPARTAN scanned the area in an attempt to figure out where he was. Nothing came to mind until he looked at the horizon. Surprisingly, it appeared some sort of mountain reached up into the sky far off before disappearing into the sky. It was the same way in the opposite direction.

"Welcome to Halo Installation Number 7, Matthew-B312." He recognized the voice as being that of the bounty hunter the GF had. "As of now there is nothing you should worry about, but it seems that whoever once lived here was a fool." Tapping some of the controls on his gauntlet, Noble Six tried to trace the signal being fed into his helmet. "It turns out that some metroids have been infected by what 117649 Averted Freedom, the monitor here, tells me are the Flood."

He had heard stories about the Flood, and thus wasn't in a hurry to meet with them. "Well, that's all I'm going to tell you for now. See you later, SPARTAN." And with that the signal was gone. He sighed before continuing on into the forest. Hopefully he'll find some sort of weapon; the pistol he had was too naked for his liking. As he continued to journey through the forest, he started to look for any sort of weapon, even a stick that he could fashion into a spear. Once he found a suitable tree for a spear, he inadvertently discovered the Hunter's gunship on a landing pad.

Beyond it was a massive fortress, which was connected to a complex that stretched further than he could see. Approaching the gunship, he pulled himself up onto the landing pad. Quickly scanning the surrounding area for any enemies or worse, Matt ran over to the craft. Climbing up through the open shaft on the bottom, he found his weapons. Lying neatly before where he popped up was a Designated Marksmen Rifle and the rest of the ammo for his pistol. Checking the rifle, he discovered a new attachment.

Picking it up triggered a hologram. Revealed in it was a female in garb similar to AIs. "If you're seeing this, SPARTAN, this you've found all of your stuff. Once you leave the Hunter II, the gunship you're in, it will take off and go into orbit around the ring." His gaze moved to the under attachment, hoping the hologram could answer his question. "The attachment was added on once I discovered that these 'Flood' your brother fought had infected the metroids I've fought so many times. It shoots a pressurized blast of freezing liquid in a manner similar to my ice beam and the ice guns used by the GF. It'll stop the metroids in place. Usually I'd take them out with missiles, but I'm more confident that you can go with those." The hologram then died and Matt was alone once more inside the ship.

"Well…this'll be pleasant," he spoke to himself. At times he envied some of the other SPARTANs, primarily those that had AIs of their own. The main reason was because they could be very handy in situations like these, when the odds are stacked high against you. Snapping his weapons into an accessible place, he climbed out of the gunship. As he walked away, the roar of liftoff occurred behind him. It wasn't as loud as a sabre, but it was still audible.

Imposing metal gates stood before him. As he neared them, they slid open, revealing the interior of the abandoned Forerunner fortress. Within a second he had drawn his DMR from off of his back. He noticed a button beneath the finger guard. _So that's how I fire the ice gun attachment_, he commented to himself, partially amused. He continued through the corridor, heading deeper in. Moving sideways and putting one foot in front of each other at a time, he had the feeling it would take him days to reach the Hunter. By then she, Matt guessed, would be ready.

Soon he reached the end of the first corridor. The door before him opened up automatically. The massive chamber before him opened up like a giant cavern, filled with bridges. Starting across the one right before him, a screech that he assumed nobody in the UNSC had ever heard sounded, echoing through the room. From above a floating, toothed jellyfish descended. Matt noticed that it had a number of tan-colored tumors all over its body.

Suddenly thirty more descended, each looking similar, yet different from the first one. "What the?" Matt said. They charged at him and he started to rapidly fire the ice beam cannon on the DMR. He stops firing once they're all frozen in place. Examining them from afar, Matt starts to look over the Flood Metroids. A couple of minutes pass when he notices one of them starts to melt.

"As you're realizing, the effects of the ice beam aren't permanent." The SPARTAN cursed the bounty hunter as he started to shoot up the metroids, beginning with the ones starting to move. Tense minutes and a clip later, he watched the last of the metroids fall down the shaft, some of them splattering against the bridges further down. _Well, that was easy_. He continued across the bridge, looking around for anything else to kill. Upon reached the end of the bridge, he placed his back against the door as it opened. As the support behind him started to fade away, Matt turned around.

"Uh…" the words slid out of his mouth as he stared down the corridor before him. The walls were coated in some blue stuff that moved like water. As he reached out for it, a voice from the COM made him freeze.

"I'd suggest not touching that. The stuff is called 'Phazon' and it's fatal." Her voice stopped for a moment before continuing. "It almost killed me on a couple of occasions." Matt stared down the hallway, not daring to start down. "I bet the corridor is safe, Reclaimer. Just don't touch the Phazon." Taking the Hunter's advice, he continued into the chamber.

* * *

Within the Control Room, Samus Aran watched the progress of the SPARTAN she had brought. Her thoughts were bogged down by the reappearance of Phazon; as far as she could remember, the stuff had been destroyed along with Phaaze and Dark Samus. The Hunter also found herself intrigued by the Flood. _Unless any Space Pirates arrived, it shouldn't to be that hard to destroy them all_, she told herself. Long blonde hair flowed over parts of the Light Armor – in a vision sent by U-Mos – that said she couldn't remove the Light Armor until the very last moment, or else she'd lose her armor.

Turning away from the monitor, the bounty hunter let her gaze rest on the rest of the control room. The Chozo Artifacts were orbiting around the Array's central unit. The Halo's Monitor had been continuously asking her to insert the Key she had taken from the Library. The fight with the Flood and the different forms they had worried Samus; not even Metroids or the Ing had been harder to fight.

"Mistress," the Monitor began. "The Sentinels have detected movement by the Flood in Sectors 8-B and 9-A through 9-D. Sector 10 through 21 has all been abandoned."

"What are you trying to say, bot?" she said, annoyed by the technical terms being thrown at her.

"I'm saying that we need to get the Reclaimer here or you'll have to fire off the Ring without him." She mentally thanked it for not trying to use subtle words to trick her into accidentally firing it off. She was sure that by now that at least part of the UNSC-Allies fleet was on their way here, the GF trailing behind.

"Where is he?" The Monitor didn't answer. "Where is he!" she shouted. No answer. Turning back to the screen she had been using earlier, Samus soon found the SPARTAN, deep in combat.

Pointing to the screen, she asked her question once more. Looking at it, the Monitor soon replied. "He is in Sector 9-A. He'll reach the Sentinel Perimeter soon." The machine paused before continuing. "If he survives," it remarked in amusement.

* * *

Continuing on further into the Forerunner compound, Matt continued to curse his luck. Constantly running into the Flood, his armor was completely coated in a fine layer of whatever was inside of the Flood. He was thankful he hadn't run into any more of the Metroid-Flood things he had fought earlier. Running out of ammo, he knew that if he didn't reach a safe point soon, he'd die.

Stepping over his most recent victims, the soldier continued to near the Hunter, wondering what she had in store for him. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be anything he'd like.

Reaching the end of the hallway he was in, he tapped some buttons on a panel next to the door. It slid open, and Matt performed a combat roll to enter the new room. Stopping at a position from which he could shoot, he spotted a number of robots, each holding a gun beneath them.

"Scanning," one of them said, the voice mechanical. "Detecting Flood bioform. Initiate destruction process." The SPARTAN paused for a moment before he dived forward, avoiding the first volley of laser fire. Pulling out his combat knife, he began to carve off the thin layer of Flood on his armor. Watching the display for his shield on the HUD, Matt dove away from their firing as it started to get low. Dodging lasers while scraping the muck off of his armor, he soon found that the lasers had stopped.

"Flood bioform destroyed. Humanoid being has survived." Three of them floated up to him. "Initiating escort sequence to Control Room. Welcome back Reclaimer." Standing up, Matt felt a sense of accomplishment. _Well, I'm sure I can take her now. I just fought through an army of Flood_, he told himself.

* * *

The UNSC Frigate _Slaughter of Injustice_ pulled into orbit above Halo Array 7. Master Chief walked up to the commander on the bridge.

"What's going on down there, sir?" the SPARTAN asked. The CO turned to him, worry writ on his face.

"We're detecting alarming energy signatures down on the ring." The man turned his gaze back to the screen before him. "The only times we've seen anything close was on Delta Halo and the Ark."

"What happened then, sir?"

"Well Chief, those were found right after the Halo rings had been activated. It seems our bounty hunter friend is firing the ring off…and she has a SPARTAN down there, fighting."

Chief turned around, heading off of the bridge. "How long do we have before it goes off?"

"I'd say at most an hour Chief." He paused. "You're going down there, aren't you?"

"Of course I am." Then the SPARTAN left the bridge.

* * *

Samus watched as the SPARTAN was led into the Control Room by three sentinels. They broke away from him, and her gaze settled squarely on him.

"So you've arrived," the Hunter commented. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get here."

"You were now, huh?" he said, looking around the room. "So why are you hovering up there?" She smiled underneath her helmet now that he's realized that she's suspended in midair.

"I'm going to activate this station soon and this is just part of what I need to do."

"You're crazy!" the SPARTAN yelled out in disgust. "You'll just kill us all!" The bounty hunter began to laugh.

"I'm not going to kill everyone. Just maybe you." An army of sentinels came up from behind and grabbed Matt. Disarming him, they carried him over to a clear table, floating just before the firing panel. The Light Suit surrounding Samus glowed brightly for a moment before the light flew off of her and went into the middle of the chamber. The artifacts adjusted their orbit to the sphere of light.

"What are you doing?" Armor less, Samus walked up to the control panel, the Key in her hand.

"Ending the war I began. Goodbye Matthew, younger brother of John-117, the Master Chief."

A/N: well, that's the end – for now. This is the second longest chapter yet. And remember that if you either want to edit this story or the novel I'm writing, or if you know somebody who would like to, either PM me or just leave it in your review.


	11. Chapter 11: Your Private Shore

A/N: well, if you're reading this, then I've gone back and edited chapters one through nine (ten just got one comma, so it's not really editing). So you should totally go back and tell me what you think of the changes via reviews. Otherwise, this is the end.

Also, thank you to Cheezeburger and TheBleachDoctor for reviewing the previous chapter.

Epilogue

Your Private Shore

The aftermath of Halo Array Number 7 was less violent than many had expected. Both fleets were intact, their crews still alive. The UNSC side was in hysterics, having expected to die the instant the scanners had picked up the firing sequence. They were breaking open multiple bottles of champagne to celebrate; the parties sent off towards the ring having already returned. Lord Hood had been removed from his command post and Only Master Chief and Matt-B312 were missing.

The Galactic Federation fleet flew over to the other human fleet, leaving the alien ones to float lonely. Some of the marines on both sides were surprised when weapon exchange wasn't ordered. Peace had come in the flash that had been emitted from the Halo. Weeks would pass before a search party was sent down to search for the missing SPARTANs and the bounty hunter who had forced the entire event. Yet they never found them.

The search ended after three weeks of searching; the combined group now known as the United Sentient Worlds had decided that if they were still alive, they would return on their own.

This is the rest of their story.

* * *

John's eyes opened up to spot two birds making lazy circles around his position. He sat up instantly, thinking he was still on the Halo. The entire ring had gone white just as he exited the pod he had traveled down in. However, the surroundings were different than he had expected; the forest and metal buildings was now an expansive beach. A woman dressed in a bikini with lengthy blonde hair stood at the shore, looking out. The SPARTAN looked over to the side to see another man lying on a mat. His color was barely there, fighting forward.

"Don't worry about him," the woman spoke. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it. "He should wake up soon." She looked down at the ground, letting him see part of her face. "Your armor is somewhere out there. You stripped down as we carried your brother here." His face scrounged up, confused.

"I don't remember that, nor is he my brother," John replied. He stood up, thinking. "I could consider him a brother in arms, but not as flesh and blood." He walked towards her. She watched him approach, arms crossed.

"There's a lot you don't know, Jonathon." His eyes widened, surprised. He only knew that was his birth name because of one time he had snuck into a classified area and read his entire file. A section about siblings had been blackened out. John had always wondered why it was like that; maybe this familiar woman would tell him why.

"Like what?" he replied. "I've seen my own file." She laughed, walking around him. The woman was barefoot.

"I know that you were never told that your younger brother went through the same processes you have. In fact," she began, "he basically followed your footsteps, other than he's more of a lone wolf than you are. Or ever would be." The woman started to stroll away. "I'm surprised you haven't asked who I am."

He crossed his arms. "Fine. Who are you then, since you think that it's so important for me to know?"

She turned around, smiling. "I'm Samus Aran, obviously." She stared him down until the SPARTAN began to laugh, trying to not fall to his knees. The lady continued to stare at him for a couple of moments before walking up to him. He looked up, still laughing. John never expected the kick she gave him. The man was sent sprawling backwards, crashing to his back. He sat up, rubbing his jaw.

"Ok," he agreed, "maybe you are Ms. Aran." He stood back up stretching his arms back. "Why did you bring us here and what happened on that ring?" The bounty hunter took a step forward.

"I did what I did on that ring because that was the only way out that didn't involve more blood," she said, staring the man down. "The ancient spirits of the race that raised me gave me this option. I didn't want it then, since my job does entail mass murder and genocide, but by the time I had captured your brother, it seemed like the only option."

"That's not what I asked." She smirked at him, turning to face the ocean.

"On that ring, races were resurrected and others were destroyed. The Flood, a species that you've faced more than once, was destroyed instantly, wiped from existence." The wind began to blow across the waves, pushing her hair around. She ignored it, continuing on. "Races such as the Forerunners and the Luminoth have returned to the galaxy. And maybe possibly other races have returned, destroyed by the first firing of the Halo Array."

"And how can you be sure that's what happened?" John asked, butting in at her pause. He hadn't moved from where he had been standing.

"Just say it's a," she paused for a moment. "Educated guess." A loud groan came from just beyond the shore. The other man had woken up. He rubbed his face twice before opening his eyes. His lips moved, yet they couldn't hear what he said. The two standing far away from him exchanged glances before the man moved, walking towards the man revealed to be his brother. The woman watching him walk away didn't know if he believed that, but she hoped that he would.

Once John reached Matthew, Samus turned away from the two SPARTANs, returning her gaze to the ocean. A yellow, lazy sun hung in the sky. She watched as waves approached the shore she stood at. Her brain was processing her future chances and they looked grim.

Yet she smiled, having found her private shore.

A/N: well, it's done! Hopefully I'll have the thank you's up by Saturday. Review and enjoy.


End file.
